The new update of the European Food Safety Authority database of Xylella spp. host plant species

Following the Xylella fastidiosa outbreak in Italy in 2013, EFSA was requested by the European Commission to provide scientific assistance on this plant pathogenic bacterium. EFSA published several scientific opinions on this topic, all included in the EFSA Journal virtual issue on X. fastidiosa (https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/toc/10.1002/(ISSN)1831-4732.XylellaVI). EFSA also released a database of host plant species of Xylella spp. that was first published in September 2018. A systematic literature review allowed the compilation of lists of host plant species, along with collection of information on infection conditions, geographic locations, pathogen taxonomy and tolerant/resistant response of host plants. The update published in April 2020 was completed following a comprehensive search of the latest scientific literature and EUROPHYT outbreaks notifications. Thirty-seven new plant species were identified as hosts of X. fastidiosa. Most of them were naturally infected and were found in EU countries (France, Italy, Portugal, and Spain) and non-EU countries (USA and Iran). Six new Sequence Types (STs) were identified in Brazil, Italy, and the USA. The list now comprises 343 host plant species detected by two highly reliable detection techniques, with a total of 595 host plant species regardless of the detection method. The raw data were published in the Zenodo platform in the EFSA Knowledge Junction community (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1339343) and interactive reports are available in the freely accessible Microstrategy platform (https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/microstrategy/xylella). Since 2021, this systematic approach will be repeated regularly to keep up-to-date the host plant database and a new release is expected in June 2021. The EFSA database of Xylella spp. host plant species represents a key tool for researchers, risk assessment and risk management.